Coaching and Training Blog
It’s ok to challenge leaders and their leadership
Frequently during the leadership development programmes I run, the conversation turns to challenging senior managers, or holding them to account. What surfaces often is the lack of willingness and confidence to approach senior leaders, around their actions, words and...
Are you a leader who seeks the ātruthā on their leadership?
I have recently had to face some hard truths about myself, not something I sought, but was given. With hindsight I really should have sought this insight from the outset to enable personal change, long before I was told. It got me thinking about how often do leaders...
Accountability: a dirty word in organisations and leadership? And how to change that.
The word accountability, often like feedback, conjures up an array of thoughts and emotions. In an age when we expect others to achieve more, do more, show these values and those behaviours and be authentic. It appears that holding people accountable is a missing...
Consider 121 development more often within your development offerings…
In the world of people development so often the focus is upon group training, rather than 121 tailored development. This might be due to numbers, time, requirements or cost. However, there is great value in more intensive focused, personalised development. To do this...
Does your leadership need a health check..?
We take our cars for a service and MOT, we have dental check-ups, we service our heating and we go for all sorts of screening at the doctors. But, when was the last time you got your own personal leadership checked out, serviced or screened? We use our leadership...
Coaching and leadership development should be more mutually supporting than you thinkā¦
Even in the early days of coaching research (Olivero et al 1997) suggested that leadership development supported by coaching was 88% more successful at translating leadership development into actual performance and productivity. This is compared to just training...
The Goldilocks Principle and Leadership
On a walk the other day I was pondering that many leadership development programmes entice delegates to think about, āwhat type of leader do you want to be?ā Organisations on the other hand, often state the type of leaders they need, or expect of leaders. Straight...
12 Top tips for newbie coaches and leaders around coaching contractingā¦
Coaching contracting is foundational to providing a great coaching experience and achieving meaningful coaching outcomes for all parties. Having trained and supervised hundreds of people through their coaching qualifications it is the contracting element which often...
Leaders, take time to be damned curious…
I have written before that leaders donāt need to be coaches per say, just have good coaching skills. What I have noticed is that so many leaders and managers operate at quite a transactional level. Their time, focus, listening and exploration with employees...
Role of leadership character in your leadership selection?
Leadership development and selection focuses a lot on skills and behaviours required, which is fair enough, but what about āleadership characterā? Surely it is leadership character which underpins leadership thinking and behaviours? Understanding leadership character...
You don’t know your organisational leadership purpose, do you?
There are very few organisations out there who ādefineā who their leaders are, what their organisational leadership purpose is. This might seem a strange thing to say, but it is true. Do you know your organisational leadership purpose? If you are a leader in your...
Delegation: what REALLY stops leaders from delegating…
I have lost count the number of times I have brought delegation to life in leadership programmes. It is a perennial topic requested by organisations and identified by leaders as being poorly done. Yet it doesnāt have to be this way. The challenge is that for most of...
Is coaching the poor relation in your leadership development?
Examine the majority of leadership development in organisations and by providers, and you will find that most of them offer nothing but a token gesture towards coaching skills development. Half a day maximum is offered to training leaders and managers in it. Many...
Do we risk diluting the perception of coaching?
As coaching has become more of a dominant word and activity within organisations in all its guises, so the consideration of it has become a very broad church. Increasingly I feel and experience that the words coach and coaching are becoming more diluted in their use....
Leaders arenāt embodying their coachingā¦
Having helped hundreds of leaders achieve their coaching qualifications, it is always fascinating to me hearing leaderās language around coaching. Even those who have been fully trained in coaching, it is very common to hear phrases like: āI went into coaching modeā...
Leaders don’t need to become coaches…
Leaders donāt need to become coaches! Controversial I know, coming from someone who trains coaches to qualification level, so bear with me on thisā¦ There is a perception among many leaders, organisations and training establishments that coaching in organisations means...
Leaders need to become dirty…
Now I have your attention, let me explain. A few years ago I was in conversation with a dear friend and colleague,Ā Annabel Graham. I asked her what type of coach she was. I expected her to pick a style or approach to coaching, but she didnāt. Instead, she said, āNick,...
Supporting your Internal Performance Coaches
Ask many companies what support they offer for their trained internal performance coaches, and mostly the responses will be disappointing. There is often a race to get people trained up in coaching, but not the same amount of thought, planning and effort into how to...
8 Tips on Becoming a Bolder New Coach…
Being bold in coaching is not something you necessarily associate with being a new or practicing coach. Boldness can be misconstrued with aggression. A new coach often feels it is not their place to be bold with their coachees. However, confidence developed through...
Are you developing your internal coaches properly..?
In my final of the three blogs around internal coaching in organisations, I examine how internal coaches are developed and supported. Perhaps my most controversial blog to date!! I am going to be bold here put my coaching neck on the line and say that organisational...
Your organisationās relationship with coaching affects coachingās success
There is a direct correlation between how an organisation embraces coaching and the success it has in the organisation. Might be an obvious thing to say but we need to examine what that āembracingā really looks like. And what it needs to be for internal coaching stand...
Leader’s reasons for not coaching, and why it should matter to you
So, you have investing in coach development training. You have some leaders trained up and the beginnings of a pool of coaches. You have promoted coaching opportunities and have some interest. 6-9 months later you have a catch up with these leaders and coaches. It...
People Crave Good Leadership
Introduction:Key points:Unlocking engagement, motivation, and workplace well-beingChallenges for leaders around meeting employee needsPeople-centric leadership: The foundation of successDelivering what people are cravingā¦Conclusion: Lead with empathy to unlock your...
Workplace Coaching: Executive privilege or employee right?
Table of ContentsIntroductionKey pointsāConsequencesā of Executive CoachingSeeing It DifferentlyCoaching as a Performance ToolEquality of AccessConclusion: āNew World OrderāReady to make coaching a driving force for growth in your organisation?...
Just A Coaching Side Salad?
IntroductionKey pointsThe value of coaching for team members and organisationsThe āside saladāBuilding a coaching mindsetThe main courseLeadership skills and coaching sessionsThe recipeCreating a strong coaching cultureThe resultConclusion: The positive impact of...
Coaching is more than just about coaching questioning skills…
Those of you who know me and my book āGreat Coaching Questionsā will recognise the importance I place on meaningful coaching questions and coaching questioning skills. They are soooo important, and most of us need practice to get great at questioning. Asking...
Want to change your organisation? Then change your leadership
By examining organisations that both succeed and fail, so much of this success or failure comes down to its leadership. A sweeping statement maybe, but if you drill down a causal fact is the companyās leaders. Direction, strategy, decision making, behaviours,...
Have organisations made leadership too complex?
The complexity of today's leadership is not be underestimated. Ask any leader (also including managers within this term) on a development programme what their role is and they will give you a convoluted and incoherent picture. Ask an organisation the same question,...
Senior leaders? Are you role modelling leadership?
When I run leadership programmes conversation invariably ends up with delegates saying, āthis is great content, but my senior leaders need to come on this. They donāt role model what you are sharing with usā. Or āThey donāt do the people leadership we are...
Choosing your leadership path
I like looking for metaphors in nature and the world around us. A way of stimulating thoughts, ideas, avenues to develop us personally and professionally. Remembering walking the Camino a few years ago, I kept seeing not just one path but several, all going in the...
Does your leadership have purpose?
The majority of people leaders in organisations simply rock up at work every day, carry out their leadership duties and donāt necessarily consider their leadership any deeper, They don't lead with a clear purpose. They transactionally undertake what their organisation...
Coaching Contracting and the New Coach
I have worked with hundreds of people to become coaches, primarily as part of their role. Any coach development training in the area of coaching contracting is a key element of the coaching process and coaching relationship. However, I experience with developing new...
Your leadership walk
A while ago I was very fortunate to walk the Camino Frances (or the Way of St. James). An old pilgrimage route from St.Jean Pierre de Port in France, across the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostella in Western Spain. Some 800kms. A highlight for me was my pre-dawn walk...
The phrase to be avoided in your people leadership…
I have delivered hundreds of leadership workshops in my years. The phrase that still crops up with scary regularity which I believe is fundamentally floored and damaging is 'constructive criticism'. No matter how much progress we have made in investing in and...
Great Coaching Questions
'Great Coaching Questions' A new book by Nick Howell Great Coaching Questions combines Nickās vast experience as a coach, coach and mentor trainer, his work with organisational leaders, managers and coaches and involvement with leadership and coaching...
‘Hybrid working’ – the next normal?
At the time of writing, we are in our 3rd Covid lockdown. Employees are encouraged to work from home if they can - again. Over the past year, organisations have had to consider where and how they and their employees work. We recognise too that whilst the current...
Are you being an Authentic Leader?
We are all authentic leaders, arenāt we? All of the time and with our teams? Probably not. In my experience of developing and coaching hundreds of leaders, many leaders often wear a ācloak of leadershipā. Something that is put on them by their organisations, or they...
Top 7 healthy traits your team need for dispersed working
Good team working when leading dispersed lives doesnāt have to be difficult. However, there are some fundamentals that need to be in place and reinforced. Use these traits to assess the āhealthā of your team. Also, where you should be focusing your leadership...
People Development as a Support to Mental Wellbeing
People development may not be every businesses top priority at the moment. Many organisations at these times see people development as a cost rather than an investment. Or there are more 'important things to deal with'. Not recognising that undertaking development...
Are your teams aligned to THEIR strengths and team roles?
Leaders and managers spend a lot of time and energy recruiting and developing employees for the right technical and professional roles. Who they as the leader think they will best technically and professionally fit into the team. On the surface, this is right and...
How much trust is there in your team?
Any research on the web around teams reveals the issue of trust is always in the top 5 problems cited in teams. Often it is the number one issue. Googleās Aristotle Project found that psychological safety was what mattered the most in how the team worked...
I am tired of looking up virtual noses…
A tongue in cheek article with professional overtones toward our virtual working. Virtual working and use of Zoom, Teams and Hangouts etc is now a primary way of communicating, running meetings, training and coaching. With recent government announcements this approach...
The importance of doing nothing as a leader.
When was the last time you did nothing as a leader? When have you stopped and sat in silence? Ever given yourself time out of your schedule to focus on nothing? The chances are you havenāt at all, or very rarely. Why is that? How come you donāt place value on taking...
Leaders – Take Time to Stand and Stare
You may not be familiar with W H Davies poemĀ Leisure. You will however recognise its opening lines ā āWhat is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stareā. The poem later begins some lines with āNo time to seeā¦ā. Looking back at these weeks of...
Ever tried coaching with your children?
I have trained hundreds of people in organisations to coach their reports and peers. Often when supervising candidates they share that they tried it out on their kids. To their surprise (but not mine!) they shared how well it went. Coaching is a powerful tool for all...
Becoming a virtual LEADER…
In the last article we considered the challenges of dispersed and virtual leadership. Here we identify how to establish and develop good practice in changing times as virtual leaders. It doesn't have to be difficult but it takes intent and personal change from the...
Challenges and Opportunities of Dispersed Leadership
There is no doubt the lock down is and will change how we live and work. After we are 'let out', work will not be the same again and we need to accept that. Virtual working and dispersed leadership working was happening, it's now simply been accelerated. Organisations...
10 Signs You as a Leader Would Benefit from Coaching…
Tim Gallwey in his book āThe Inner Game of workā develops the equation Performance = Potential ā Interference. We all have both potential within us, and at times, interferences. Interferences - those things that stop us from achieving our potential and delivering...
Why you DON’T need coaching – a conversation.
Letās have a conversation and examine the reasons I still hear people throw up against using coaching or engaging with a coach. Let's explore their thinking a little to realise the value coaching can bring. "Nothing's broken, everything is running smoothly, I'm doing...
Coaching People Through Transition.
Change versus Transition The concept of change is often misused. It is used to encapsulate everything associated with it. Change isnāt transition and vice versa. William Bridges in his bookĀ Transitions: making sense of lifeās changesĀ presents a clear difference...
Understanding different types of coaching
Coaching is commonplace in many organisations. However, there is a multitude of types of coaching, each with slightly different purposes, clients and approaches. I attempt here to provide some clarity between the types of coaching and a purity to each. I recognise...
Avoiding the ‘Peter Principle’ through coaching
Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull wrote their book The Peter Principle 1969, but it is still as valid today. This simply states that āevery employee tends to rise to his level of incompetenceā. So, if someone is good at their job, theyāll be promoted into a role that...
The most important leadership gift you have…
So what do you think the most important gift you have for your employees? Industry knowledge? Leadership abilities? Organisational experience? Nope none of these. They all have their place certainly. The most important thing you can give to your employees is nothing...
Cycling and Leadership
I know you could make similar sporting analogies. Humour me it's Friday, I am allowed! Those who know me know I am an avid cyclist. Twice a week work permitting, including a long ride in on the weekend. I have toured, done Sportives and Audaxes and pottered into town....
Becoming a learning leader
The generic quote of āleaders never stop learningā is so true, but how do we make it a reality? Here, we examine how these leaders become ālearning leadersā. Where their learning and development is integral to who they are and how they operate in their organisations....
What stops you investing in your leadership?
As well as leading people and the company, senior leaders are role models, change agents, stakeholders, and the face of the company. To maintain these high value and high quality activities requires leaders to invest in themselves and their leadership. To be the best...
8 Signs of bad leadership – how leaders adversely impact upon the culture of their teams
Leaders rarely truly reflect on how their leadership impacts on the culture of their teams. Good leadership transforms team culture, bad leadership damages people and teams. Being aware of how leaders affect their teams culture enables personal change to occur....
Executive Coaching, opportunities and you.
Interestingly, leaders support their children, teams and peers but when it comes to themselves they can be more hesitant. Leaders may often think about Executive Coaching as an approach but don't pursue it. They question if it is the right thing for them, or wonder...
Giving Feedback: Why The Managers You Hired Might Be Avoiding It…
Giving and receiving feedback is one of the most important aspects of being a good leader. But many managers and leaders really struggle with this aspect of the job. Here are some of the main reasons why leaders may not be giving regular, consistent feedback. Why is...
7 Reasons Why Your Managers Are Managing But Not Leading
You have a breadth of managers working for you and some will naturally progress. Others, no matter how they approach their work they just donāt seem to progress to more leadership roles. They are managing, but not leading. Aside from technical ability, there is some...
Transform your team’s culture through coaching and leadership
Culture is often defined as āthe way we do things around hereā. We can see developing culture or influencing it as a big task and goal. Yes, organisational cultural change is complex and long term activity. However, daily coaching and leadership conversations...
Enabling your managers to become leaders
So you have a set of good managers, but how do you get them to become leaders? As a senior leader you have a key role in nurturing them, helping them to become leaders of people and organisations. But how do you get them to make that transition? Here are some idea...
Effective leadership and not having enough time
How often do you hear from your first line and middle leaders āI donāt have enough timeā as a response to questions about delivery or people activities? It is the most common response I get when exploring and challenging people's thinking around effective leadership....
Leadership skills: Helping Your Leaders Give Feedback Every Day
Providing employees with feedback is one of the most important leadership skills. You need your leaders to be providing feedback to their employees on a more regular basis, but how do you do it? Before providing a more comprehensive guide to feedback which you can...
8 questions to ask your prospective Executive Coach
So you need some support to make some improvements in how you work as a people leader in your business? Executive Coaching is a powerful approach leading to changes in leadership behaviours and performance. Picking the 'right' coach is important. Here are some...
8 Reasons the Line Managers You Hired Might be Micromanaging
Senior leaders often express frustration, wishing their managers would spend more time managing and leading their teams and less time micromanaging and firefighting. As a workplace coach, I often come across this problem. My discussions with line managers reinforce...